Need More Conversations With A Northwestern Blog?
0 Comments Published on 8.27.2008 by Brian Harrison
Time for more blog talk. Don't act like you don't love that it's football season again.The debut of Syracuse Football’s 2008 campaign is this Saturday at 12:00pm on ESPN 2. They happen to be playing Northwestern. Earlier in the summer you saw myself answer questions over at the fine Northwestern blog Lake The Posts about the upcoming match. Now it was my turn to ask some questions and LTP was happy to oblige. You may have caught their conversation with my colleague Sean from Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician on his site as well as on LTP, but check out these answers. Just like Sean to poach a good source.
1. Orange::44: Are Northwestern fans excited to start the season and what is the general outlook of the team for the year?
LTP: As excited as we've been since the 2001 season when we were coming off a Big Ten title...We're loaded at the offensive skill positions. with CJ Bacher (QB) and Tyrell Sutton (RB) and WRs Eric Peterman, Ross Lane, Andrew Brewer and Rasheed Ward leading the way. The OL is the big question mark. Our "D" has been awful most of this decade, but there is optimism since we landed DC, Mike Hankwitz this off-season (as well as a new OC, Mick McCall). This is about as excited as our fan base gets.
2. Orange::44: How does the average Northwestern fan view the upcoming game and what are your predictions for the outcome?
LTP: A little bit of disbelief based on the 12 point spread. We haven't run the table in non-conference sinc 1963 despite winning 3 Big Ten titles since 1995, so we never take an OOC team for granted. Cautiously optimistic would be best categorization.
3. Orange::44: What players will give Syracuse the most fits, offensive or defensive?
LTP: As you know we run the spread and led the Big Ten in offense last year. The spread is going no-huddle, which will likely give SU fits as we have so many weapons at wideout, but the zinger is Tyrell Sutton has the best hands of any RB and is a huge threat as a WR. When we get clicking on "O" it is tough to stop us.
4. Orange::44: This is one of the opening games of the college football season on national television. Will the atmosphere in the stadium be rocking?
LTP: Hardly. Unfortunately we suffer from the private school in a major market syndrome. We only have 8000 undergrads and the school is on the trimester system, meaning school doesn't start for 3 MORE WEEKS! There will be no band, no student section. Will look TERRIBLE on TV. Don't hold it against us...we start out well in September, we'll be filling the 47,000+ stadium in October.
5. Orange::44: What is the one thing about Northwestern, both the school and the football team, that most people should know about?
LTP: Fitz [Coach Pat Fitzgerald] does things the right way. Fans are truly proud of the kids and we usually enjoy seeing them on-camera as they represent us so well. The hang your hat on stat I like to pull out to show we deserve respect is that only Michigan and Ohio State have more Big Ten titles then we do since 1995.
6. Orange::44: What is the best tradition Northwestern has?
LTP: Lake the Posts is named after an embarrassing tradition of ripping down the field goal posts after essentially ANY win in what we call the Dark Ages (1973-1994) which ended when Gary Barnett came to town in 1992 and cemented the posts. After the wins, fans would march the posts down Central street to Lake Michigan and throw them in, aka "laking" them. The best tradition we have is the Sweet Sioux rivalry with in-state rival Illinois, however, starting next year we will no longer play them on the final weekend for reasons I don't understand.
1. Orange::44: Are Northwestern fans excited to start the season and what is the general outlook of the team for the year?
LTP: As excited as we've been since the 2001 season when we were coming off a Big Ten title...We're loaded at the offensive skill positions. with CJ Bacher (QB) and Tyrell Sutton (RB) and WRs Eric Peterman, Ross Lane, Andrew Brewer and Rasheed Ward leading the way. The OL is the big question mark. Our "D" has been awful most of this decade, but there is optimism since we landed DC, Mike Hankwitz this off-season (as well as a new OC, Mick McCall). This is about as excited as our fan base gets.
2. Orange::44: How does the average Northwestern fan view the upcoming game and what are your predictions for the outcome?
LTP: A little bit of disbelief based on the 12 point spread. We haven't run the table in non-conference sinc 1963 despite winning 3 Big Ten titles since 1995, so we never take an OOC team for granted. Cautiously optimistic would be best categorization.
3. Orange::44: What players will give Syracuse the most fits, offensive or defensive?
LTP: As you know we run the spread and led the Big Ten in offense last year. The spread is going no-huddle, which will likely give SU fits as we have so many weapons at wideout, but the zinger is Tyrell Sutton has the best hands of any RB and is a huge threat as a WR. When we get clicking on "O" it is tough to stop us.
4. Orange::44: This is one of the opening games of the college football season on national television. Will the atmosphere in the stadium be rocking?
LTP: Hardly. Unfortunately we suffer from the private school in a major market syndrome. We only have 8000 undergrads and the school is on the trimester system, meaning school doesn't start for 3 MORE WEEKS! There will be no band, no student section. Will look TERRIBLE on TV. Don't hold it against us...we start out well in September, we'll be filling the 47,000+ stadium in October.
5. Orange::44: What is the one thing about Northwestern, both the school and the football team, that most people should know about?
LTP: Fitz [Coach Pat Fitzgerald] does things the right way. Fans are truly proud of the kids and we usually enjoy seeing them on-camera as they represent us so well. The hang your hat on stat I like to pull out to show we deserve respect is that only Michigan and Ohio State have more Big Ten titles then we do since 1995.
6. Orange::44: What is the best tradition Northwestern has?
LTP: Lake the Posts is named after an embarrassing tradition of ripping down the field goal posts after essentially ANY win in what we call the Dark Ages (1973-1994) which ended when Gary Barnett came to town in 1992 and cemented the posts. After the wins, fans would march the posts down Central street to Lake Michigan and throw them in, aka "laking" them. The best tradition we have is the Sweet Sioux rivalry with in-state rival Illinois, however, starting next year we will no longer play them on the final weekend for reasons I don't understand.
Thanks to Lake The Posts again for doing the great work that they do. I'm looking forward to the game. And here's hoping I can delay putting up a picture of a crying child early and often.
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